Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Transactions....

Welcome back and Happy New Year's. Let's get to some news.

You gotta give it to the Browns....as much as everyone says Mangini is "tough" and not player-friendly, his boys did go out and win 4 in a row—first time they've done that since 1996. At the very least, it shows they didn't quit on him. And it makes it a lot tougher for Holgren to fire Mangini.

The Mara family and Giants coach Tom Coughlin probably want to rehire former defensive coordinator, Bill Sheridan just so they can fire him again; this time in the middle of Times Square with a gallows and a black-hooded guy.

You guys when Roy Williams was a wide receiver in the NFL?

I have nothing against Bobby Bowden, but to deify the man just because he is retiring is to ignore the fact that his program has had serious criminal problems for a long time. Yes, the man can coach, and he brought a moribund program to national attention. However, the fact is FSU, for a very, very long time, has had a serious problem with recruiting bad people who happen to be good at football.

Let's take a quick tally. FSU had 2 players arrested last year in a bar fight. Preston Parker was arrested in April on drug and weapon charges. Richard Goodman was arrested in May for aggravated battery. Two former Florida State football players, Fred Rouse and A.J. Nicholson were arrested for stealing electronic equipment worth approximately $1,700 from the home of a current player. Geno Hayes and Joseph Surratt were arrested for attacking two police officers. Maurice Harris was arrested for grand theft. Adrian McPherson was busted for stealing and forging a signature on a blank check from a Florida store. Rod Owens was arrested for DWI. Ernie Simms was arrested for beating his girlfriend. Oh and yes, a couple years ago, there was a athletic department-wide academic cheating scandal involving 61 athletes, many of which were Bowden's players.

And this is all within the past few years—to say nothing of the many many violations and arrests in the years before. Bowden's program has had numerous other issues all throughout his time at FSU. Lord, there is a valid reason FSU was nicknamed there is a reason the are called the Florida State Criminoles.

Seriously, not to tarnish the man, but it seems to me that at least one major news outlet would at least mention that his program has been plagued with this kind of behavior, no?

The A's signing Justin Duchscherer might be the sleeper signing of the off-season.

Interesting point reported by PFW. They write one anonymous scout saying that hiring Mike Holmgren as a GM is a mistake. Very interesting stuff:

I think he is a great coach — I really do. But as a personnel guy ... But if you look at Seattle's drafts between 1999 and 2006 and look at the picks in the first three rounds, Seattle's batting percentage was marginal at best. (In my opinion) they hit on 10-of-27 picks — 37 percent. Pittsburgh and Indianapolis were batting over 60 percent. You've got to be able to evaluate your own, and they let go of Sam Adams, Phillip Daniels, Ken Lucas — they just let their contracts run out. They traded Ahman Green — oops. I'll give him credit for trading for Joey Galloway, but bringing in the (Levon) Kirklands and Doug Evanses of the world were not good."

Please, please...stop saying "The Grandaddy of them all" for the Rose Bowl. Dammit, just say Rose Bowl.

AAPTBNL Man of the Week. Well a lot to choose from, but for one reason alone, I am going to pick Willis McGahee. Check out this highlight. Not only did he run for 77 yards on this play, and 167 yards total on 16 carries with 3 TDS. No, its the wicked stiff-arm he gives Hiram Eugene (who?) that just buttplants Eugene on the turf. Awesome play. And congrats to McGahee.

And lastly, this quote...is why I never liked Michael Irvin.

"I would turn in all three Super Bowl rings and my Hall of Fame bust for one undefeated season.''-- Michael Irvin, on NFL Network's Sunday morning pregame show.

2 comments:

I agree with Duchscherer's signing being a sleeper, but hopefully he can stay healthy. He cost me a draft pick in my fantasy league last season.

I might be in the minority, but I don't think Michael Irvin's crazy for saying what he did. Deadspin had a take on it (search Michael Irvin and it should pop up) and the conclusion was that a full undefeated season is something only one team has done, but 43 different teams have won a Super Bowl. Not to minimize the importance and honor of winning a Super Bowl, but going 19-0 has never been done, and the first team that does it will be immortalized in NFL history.

Also, I really hope the Browns keep Mangini. With Holmgren at the front office and some good draft picks this year, hopefully they can try for a wild-card. I'm probably delusional, though.

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About Me

Born and raised in Brooklyn, I'm a sports junkie with an overabundance of opinions and a unused degree in writing. I decided to let vent with this blog and hope somebody out there would like to read what I write. Hope you enjoy, and if you do or don't let me know what you think.